Obama's Chicago: More Unions Waiting For Their Handout

From Firehouse.com: The grueling teachers strike is over. Now comes the hard part for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
As he pushes ahead on his promise to reform the city's underperforming classrooms, he faces several daunting tasks: slashing an estimated $1 billion budget deficit, confronting a woefully underfunded employee pension system and finding money for the pay raises that settled the first teacher walkout in a generation. He hasn't ruled out school closings and tax increases, both of which would be hugely unpopular.
Waiting in the wings are other unions, including police and firefighters, whose labor contracts have expired and who no doubt took notes as the teachers stood up to the former White House chief of staff with the fearsome reputation.
The strike, which idled more than 350,000 children for more than a week, was the first time Emanuel was forced to make serious concessions since leaving Washington last year. But the challenges he faces aren't unlike those confronting mayors in New York, Baltimore and elsewhere as they grapple with financial fallout from the Great Recession and urgent demands to improve public education.
"Union concessions won't get him there," said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Chicago-based Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. "And they can't cut their way to a better education system."
As he welcomed children back to school, Emanuel nodded at the difficulties ahead: "We have other tough things to do."
The mayor said he's made a good start by cutting $500 million from the district's central office and crafting a three-year teacher contract that will cost $75 million a year compared with $130 million a year for the last contract. But he would not elaborate on reports that the city may be pressured to raise taxes on cigarettes and amusements, and close dozens of schools and move more rapidly toward cheaper charter schools.  http://www.firehouse.com/news/10783623/chicago-union-waiting-in-wings-after-teachers-strike
This is Obama's Chicago and it will be coming to a city near you.